Month: May 2014

As my Aunt Aggie nears her 100th birthday on June 8th, I have been thinking a lot about birthdays and what they mean to different people. There are those who shun their birthdays as they’d rather not face the annual reminders that they are aging. Others awake bright and cheerful on the mornings of their birthdays. For them it is a special day and they want to enjoy everything the day brings their way.

Our attitude to our own birthdays was likely ingrained during our childhood birthdays. At home we learned how a birthday should be celebrated – or not. Some families make little fuss over birthdays and forgo the gifts and the cake. Others always celebrate on the day or on the closest weekend, complete with dinner, cake, music, and even games.

Continue reading “What’s In a 100th Birthday?”

There are many places my husband and I like to visit, but our all-time favourite is close to home. We book a visit in Niagara-on-the-Lake – Ontario’s Paradise – at least once a year and always on my birthday in August.

During the day, this picturesque town is bustling with shoppers who crowd the sidewalks, boutiques, and galleries. This is the home of artist Tricia Romance. It is always a joy to check out her lovely paintings that hang in her main art gallery there. Such lovely depictions of family life in simpler times and venues. There are other fine galleries of art to peruse there as well.

Continue reading “My Favourite Romantic Spot”

 

I rose from my bed in a depressed mood this morning. I kicked myself for that because when I looked outside, I beheld a glorious spring morning. It isn’t raining today! Well, that realization didn’t have a long lasting impact on my mood. As we ate our breakfast together, Anne and I discussed the fact that we were both emotionally ‘down’ today. We’re both worried about Anne’s aunt, Agnes Ellert – our Aggie.

Aggie is just four weeks away from her 100th birthday – June 8th – but we have serious doubts that she’ll make it. For the past several months we have been spending three mornings a week with her at her long term care residence in Kitchener, The Westmount. Aggie suffers from Alzheimer’s and we are now seeing her slip into the final stage of that awful disease. Miraculously, she still knows us when we visit – after we introduce ourselves. This past week we witnessed Aggie deteriorate noticeably. Yesterday morning she sat up with us enjoying a cup of coffee we brought her for about a half hour. Then she asked us to let her go back to bed because she was tired. Continue reading “My ‘Other’ Woman”

Sunday, April 27, was a very special day for our granddaughter, Alexis Fulsom. It was the day of her First Holy Communion at St. Agnes Church in Waterloo. The excitement and the emotion moved me to write this poem to mark the moment:

 

LADY ALEXIS’ SPECIAL DAY

Twas the Wednesday before – the first communion retreat

Nana volunteered to man the kitchen

So the students could make bread.

Four groups trooped through the kitchen

To toil over creation of their own buns

Rolling the flour – Decorating with raisins – what fun! Continue reading “An Emotional Celebration”